The month of December was an eventful one for the Kennedy Center. In the leadup to Christmas, the institution was controversially renamed Trump-Kennedy Center, with new signage installed. Then came the boycotts, the threat of retaliatory lawsuits, and the Dec. 23 broadcast of the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors, which delivered all-time low ratings.
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And this after Donald Trump, who became the first sitting president to host the show, had predicted it would be “the highest-rated show that they’ve ever done.”
That soft viewership result didn’t reflect what was a “successful night,” say reps for the Kennedy Center.
“Comparing this year’s broadcast ratings to prior years is a classic apples-to-oranges comparison and evidence of far-left bias,” Roma Daravi, vp of public relations for the Kennedy Center, said in a statement shared with The Hollywood Reporter. “The program performed extremely well across key demographics and platforms, despite industry and timing disadvantages, including a Tuesday air date two days before Christmas.”
According to THR, Nielsen Live + Same Day Panel + Big Data reported the special averaged 4.1 million viewers, representing a 26% drop in viewership year-on-year.
Since the 2024 show, however, Nielsen changed its methodology by launching its Big Data + Panel system that combines its traditional panel data with data from smart TVs and set-top boxes.
Also, notes, THR, the previous show was broadcast on a Sunday with an NFL lead-in, the Kennedy Center outlined on background.
“With overall television usage down roughly 20 percent year over year, the broadcast still tied for the #1 spot among adults aged 25–54, alongside a live NBA doubleheader,” Daravi adds. “And on social media, Honors garnered 1.5 billion impressions in just one night — up from only 50 million similar impressions last year. This was a successful night celebrating the outstanding achievements of our Honorees at the Trump Kennedy Center.”
While the serving president traditionally sits in the balcony with the honorees, Trump took the stage three times during the 48th annual event, which this year feted Sylvester Stallone, KISS, George Strait, Gloria Gaynor and Broadway legend Michael Crawford.
The annual presentation took place Sunday, Dec. 7, and aired later in the month on CBS and Paramount+, following the announcement of plans to rename the Kennedy Center to The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.
Efforts to rename the Kennedy Center, reportedly approved by its board, could face legal hurdles. The original laws that guided the creation of the Kennedy Center specifically prohibited the renaming of the building. It would take an act of Congress to change that now.
That board looks a lot different than it did a year earlier. In February 2025, Trump abruptly fired members and installed himself as chair, writing in a post on Truth Social at the time, “At my direction, we are going to make the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., GREAT AGAIN.”
Weeks later, the newly installed members of the Kennedy Center board, handpicked by Trump, officially elected Trump as board chair.
Celebrities who have disassociated themselves from the Kennedy Center this year include Rhiannon Giddens, Issa Rae, Renee Fleming, Shonda Rhimes and Ben Folds. The landmark musical Hamilton and play Eureka Day soon cancelled performances at the center, while jazz supergroup The Cookers pulled out of a planned New Year’s Eve concert, and musician Chuck Redd scrapped a Christmas Eve performance.
